‘American Hustle,’ ‘Gravity’ lead Oscar nods

BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters) – Con-men caper “American Hustle” and space thriller “Gravity” led Oscar nominees on Thursday with 10 nominations each, including best picture, in the race for the world’s top film prize.

Slavery drama “12 Years a Slave” received nine nominations, including in the best picture category, in a year crowded with high-quality films.

Those three films will be joined by six others in the best picture competition: “Captain Phillips,” “Dallas Buyers Club,” “Her,” “Nebraska,” “Philomena,” and “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences may nominate up to 10 films for best picture, but only chose nine this year. A notable exclusion was the Coen Brothers’ “Inside Llewyn Davis,” which had won some top critics’ awards.

Eight individuals in the acting categories are first-time nominees, including Chiwetel Ejiofor as the free man sold into slavery in “12 Years a Slave.” He will compete in the best actor race with Matthew McConaughey, the Golden Globe winner last Sunday for his role as the unlikely AIDS crusader in “Dallas Buyers Club.”

Meryl Streep extended her lead as the most nominated performer with an 18th nomination, this year for best actress as the matriarch in “August: Osage County.” She goes up against fellow Oscar winners Sandra Bullock as the astronaut lost in space in “Gravity” and Cate Blanchett as the riches-to-rags socialite in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine.”

The Academy will hand out the Oscars at a ceremony hosted by comedian Ellen DeGeneres in Los Angeles on March 2.

The full list of nominees is as follows:

Best Picture:
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years A Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

Music – Original Score:
The Book Thief
Gravity
Her
Philomena
Saving Mr. Banks

Music – Original Song:
Alone Yet Not Alone by Bruce Broughton and Dennis Spiegel, from Alone Yet Not Alone
Happy by Pharrell Williams, from Despicable Me 2
Let it Go by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, from Frozen
The Moon Song by Karen O, from Her
Ordinary Love by U2, from Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

Production Design:
American Hustle
Gravity
The Great Gatsby
Her
12 Years A Slave

Sound Editing:
All Is Lost
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lone Survivor